Nov 24, 2011

Circassia: The Path to Peace and Reconciliation in the Caucasus


Mr. Cihan Candemir, President of the Federation of Caucasian Associations in Turkey, delivered a speech to European deputies on 6 November 2011 detailing the history of conflict in the Caucasus and the current struggle of the Circassian people to maintain their language and cultural identity.

 

Circassia: The Path to Peace and Reconciliation in the Caucasus

Below is a speech delivered by Cihan Candemir: 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Members of the European Parliament, Distinguished Guests,

On behalf of the Federation of Caucasian Associations in Turkey, which is the umbrella of 60 cultural associations dispersed in Turkey, and as a member of World Circassian Association I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the European Parliament, and the Federation of European Circassians for organizing this event.  

I have the honor of introducing to you the Circassian culture, history and current problems very briefly.

The Caucasus or Caucasia is a region located between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. The Caucasus Mountains, that divide the region, are often considered the border between Europe and Asia.

The Caucasus is described by many visitors as a mysterious and picturesque region, with warm, rich lowlands, majestic forests and alpine pastures, and eternally snowcapped peaks. It has served as a meeting place for European, Central Asian, and Middle Eastern civilizations, and its unique culture is infused with influences from each of these societies.

The beauty of the Caucasus has been celebrated in literature, most notably in Pushkin’s poem “Captive of the Caucasus,” Lermontov’s novel “A Hero of Our Time,” and Tolstoy’s stories “The Cossacks” and “Hadji Murad.” The high mountains and deep valleys of the region have been the source of inspiration for the legends of ancient peoples: Prometheus was chained here, Argonauts sought the Golden Fleece at Colchis, and the mythical bird Simurg, the reflection of divinity and eternity, lived on the highest hills of the Kaf (Caucasian) Mountains.

The region is also one of the most linguistically and culturally diverse regions on Earth thanks to its isolated valleys and mountains. The Caucasian Mountains, known also as the Mountain of Languages, are home to a large variety of ethnic groups, some of which historians link to the earliest eras of man.

The Circassians are native, autochthonous, people of the North-West Caucasus.  They speak a unique language that includes almost all sounds a human can pronounce. They have developed a fascinating culture that reflects the beauty, bravery and mystery of the Caucasian mountains.

Archeological findings reveal that human life and culture in the region dates back to at least 35,000 B.C.  Archaeologists believe that 2,500 stone tools, excavated in the Kuban, Khodz, Marta, Pseykups and Kurchips areas, date to the early stone age 35.000 B.C. and before. 15.565 pieces of tools made of stone and bones, found in Gub, Setenay and Tuğups areas, date to the last period of early stone age between the 35,.000 and 10,000 B.C.  Archeological findings in Sosruko settlement area are made of stone and ivory are finer handcrafts and date to the mid-stone age (10,000-6,000 B.C.).  The grave stones and other stone crafts found near the City of Nalchik date to the Neolithic period (c. 5000 B.C.).

Historians believe that the emergence of the metal age can be traced to Circassia.  Especially in the Maykop area, the bronze and metal culture developed between the years 3000-2500 B.C.   The Maykop region covers a wide area starting from Black Sea coast including Abkhaz Kolkhide to middle of Chechenistan.   Historically, the regions culture development has close relations with that of old Anotilan civilizations. The linguistic similarities between Caucasian civilizations and Anatolian civilizations such as Hatti, Hurri and Sumer, provide links between these two civilizations.  Additionally, more than 2,300 dolmen structures scattered throughout the Caucasian Mountains are thought to be from the same era as similar structures found throughout the Pirene Mountains of Spain. As evidence of this link, some archeologists argue that the Abkhaz and Baske languages and cultures have common features.

The Russian Professor Dr. Marr wrote: “There is no doubt that the Caucasia has the oldest mines and it is the center of oldest mine culture. Caucasian mine culture connects Europe, Asia, Asia Minor and Egea.”

Professor Jorj Montandan wrote:”It is not surprising that you can find the roots of earliest European civilization in Caucasia, which is the foundation of contemporary Indo-European civilization”    

The Circassians have protected their country and freedom against the relentless onslaught of various aggressors in their history. Having never been conquered, they have managed to preserve their ancient culture until the time of the Russian invasion which began in the 18th century.  Circassians showed fiercely resisted the Russian Tsarist Empire for more than a century without any organized army or significant external support.

Despite attempts to protect their freedom, the Circassian population was deported en masse into foreign lands following the conquest of their homeland in the mid-19th century. The deportation of the Circassian people was among the largest exodus in modern times. Almost 90 percent of the population was deported, and a third of them perished during the exodus from disease and starvation.

The tragedy of Circassian people is not well known throughout the world. Stephen D. Shenfield, an independent specialist in Russian and post-Soviet affairs, analyzes this tragedy in “A Forgotten Genocide.”

Shenfield’s study begins with a question: “Who Are (or Were) the Circassians?“

“This is the question I am usually asked if I ever mention my interest in the Circassians. Except for specialists in the Caucasus, there are few people in the Western world (although more people in the Middle East) who remember who the Circassians were,  where they came from or what happened to them. They are an almost forgotten people. You will find no place called ‘Circassia’ on any contemporary map. The nearest you will get to it, and then only should you happen to know what the Russian word for ‘Circassian’ (borrowed from the Turkish) is Circassian, will be the Karachai-Circassian Autonomous Province (it is now Karachai-Cherkes Republic) in southern Russia. This area in fact lies somewhat to the north of the historical Circassia: it is where some of the Circassians were resettled following the tsarist conquest of their homeland. Moreover, the name of the territory is now somewhat misleading, inasmuch as the Circassians, who theoretically share it with the Turkic Karachai people, actually account for a mere 10 percent of its roughly half-million population.”

“Perharps, however, you like poring over old maps, as I do. If so, take a look at a map of Russia dating from the early-nineteenth century, and you will find Circassia clearly marked – a country in the north-western Caucasus and along the north-eastern shore of the Black Sea, stretching southwards from the banks of the River Kuban, which at that time marked the southern boundary of the Russian empire. And you can read about Circassia in the old books of nineteenth-century western travellers such as the French consul Gamba (1826), the English adventurer James Bell (1841), the French couple de Hell (1847), the American George Leighton Ditson (1850), and the Dutch consul de Marigny (1887). And if you go back in time a few more decades and inspect a map drawn in the middle of the eighteenth century, then you will see the name ‘Circassia’ boldly straddling both bank of the River Kuban, from the lowlands east of the Sea of Azov, between the Kuban, and the Don, all the way to the borders of Ossetia and Chechnya up in the main Caucasus mountain range and along the Black Sea coast from the isthmus of the Sea of Azov to Abkhazia Circassia at that time, prior to tsarist imperal conquest, occupied an area of 55,663 square kilometres – rather greater than the area of Denmark – and possessed an indigenous population in excess of two million.”

After detailing the brief history of Circassians, Shenfield writes about the “Circassian tragedy” asserting, “The Circassians fought against Russian conquest for over a century, from 1763 to 1864 – longer than any other people of the Caucasus, even the Chechens. Their final defeat in the 1860s led to massacre and forced deportation, mainly across the Black Sea to Turkey, in the course of which a large proportion of them perished. Many Circassians were also utilized by the Ottomans in the Balkans to suppress the rebellious Serbs, but almost all of these were later relocated to the interior of Anatolia.”

“In 1860, having failed to subdue the Circassians in ninety-seven years of warfare, the Russian government decided to enforce their mass migration to other regions of the empire or to Turkey. General Yevdokimov was entrusted with the execution of this policy, and advanced into the stil unconquered parts of Circassia with newly formed mobile columns of riflemen and Cossack cavalry. In the northern areas that he first penetrated, the Circassians submitted to his will: that same year, four thousand families set sail for Turkey from the estuary of the Kuban without offering any resistance. However, the tribes living further to the south-east did prepare to resist. At the place where now stands the popular Black Sea resort of Sochi, the Abadzekhs, Shapseghs and Ubykhs formed an assembly and appealed – in vain – to the Ottomans and Britain for help”

“In September 1861, the Emperor himself, Tsar Alexander II, visited Yekaterinodar, the Russian town closest to the scene of the action, and there received a delegation of Circassian chiefs. The chiefs expressed  readiness to recognize Russian suzerainty provided that Russian troops and Cossacks were removed from Circassian lands beyond the Rivers Kuban and Laba. Their proposal was rejected. The Abadzekhs, however, agreed to move to new lands offered them further north (many of the titular people of the Adygei Autonomous Province are their descendants) while the chiefs of the other tribes refused to uproot their people”

“Subsequent military operations against them began in the spring of 1862. The Russian soldiers systematically burned the Circassian villages – all the villages of the Shapsegh without exception were burned down – while the crops growing in the fields were trampled under the hooves of the Cossacks’ horses. Those inhabitants who then declared their submission to the Tsar were marched off, under the control of Russian superintendants, for resettlement on the plain to the north while those who refused to submit were sent down to the seashore to await deportation to Turkey. Many others – men, women and children – fled from their burning villages only to perish of hunger and exposure in the forest and mountains”

“Having conquered the Shapsegh and Abadzekh, recounts the Circassian historian Shauket: ‘the column of General Babich followed the seashore southwards,destroying villages as it went. They were on the border of the land of the Ubykh. From the side of the Goitkh pass another column came to meet them. Little Ubykhia became the last citadel of Circassian freedom. The Ubykh made a last attempt to prolong the agony, but the Russians compressed the ring ever tighter. From the south, troops were landed in the very heart of the Ubykh land, while from the north three columns advanced through the mountains and along the seashore. The last resistance was broken.”

Trakho, another Circassian historian, continues the story:

“There remained only the small coastal tribes: the Pskhu, the Akhtsipsou, the Aibgo and the Jigit. In the course of May 1864 these tribes were annihilated almost to the last man, woman and child. Seeing this, Circassians gathered from all corners of the country in a frenzy of despair threw themselves into the valley of the Aibgo. For four days (7-11 May) the Russians were repulsed with great losses. Heavy artillery was then brought up and began to belch fire and smoke into the little valley. Not one of the defenders survived. The capture of this little valley, lost in the mountains, was the last act in the long tragedy of the Circassian people. On 21 May the Great Prince Mikhail Nikolaevich gathered his troops in a clearing for a thanksgiving service.”

Of this same final battle-pogrom Shauket writes:

“The last battle took place in the area of the Black Sea near Maikop, in the Khodz valley [i.e., the valley of the Aibgo] near the town of Akhchip. That rough mountainous area was the last stronghold at which women and children assembled for protection from the Russian advance. The women threw their jewellery into the river, took up arms and joined the men in order to fight the battle of death for the sake of their homeland and honour, lest they should fall captives in Russian hands. The two parties met in a horrible battle which turned out to be a massacre unprecedented in history. The objective of that battle [for the Circassians] was not to achieve success or victory, but to die honourably and to leave a life which had no honourable hope left. In that battle men and women were slaughtered mercilessly and blood flowed in rivers, so that it was said that ‘‘the bodies of the dead swam in a sea of blood’’. Nevertheless, the Russians were not content with what they had done, but sought to satisfy their instincts by making the surviving children targets for their cannon shells.”

Unfortunately, the site of this last battle was Krasny Polyana (i.e. The Red Mountain) where the 2014 Sochi Winter Olimpic Games will be held. This year also marks the 150th anniversary of Circassian’s tragedy and mass deportation.

I believe that if I add a few words from Russian historians the scale of tragedy would be better understood:

The Russian Historian Zakharian argued, The Circassian people don’t like us. Because we forced them out from their free pastures. We destroyed their settlements. We entirely annihilated many of their tribes”

The opposing N. N. Rayevsky said: “ The evil executed in Caucasus was the same as the evil executed by the Spaniards in America. I wish that mighty God will not leave blood traces in the history of Russia.”

I would now like to inform you about the problems faced by Cherkiss people today.

Those who survived the war and deportation were dispersed into various countries.  However, against all odds, Circassians persist in their pursuit of national unity.  In spite of their small population, Circassians have established autonomous republics, and have preserved their culture and language. Today, the largest community of Circassians, about 5-6 million, live in Turkey, and about 200,000 Circassians live in the Middle Eastern countries (Jordan, Syria, Egypt and Israel). The 1960’s and 1970’s witnessed a new wave of migration from the Circassian diaspora to Europe and the United States. It is estimated that there are now more than 50,000 Circassians living in the European Union. The small community that was left in Kosovo expatriated to Adygea after the war in 1998 after splitting of Kosovo from Serbia.

The Circassians have tried to establish strong links between their homeland and the diaspora. They wish to revive and maintain their culture, speak their language, and live in freedom, peace and happiness together with all peoples of the world. They are now here, at the European Parliament, to establish long lasting friendships with the people of Europe.

The main threat to the Circassian diaspora is loss of culture, language and the national identity.  The ancient Ubıkh language of Caucasians died in Turkey after the death of Mr. Tevfik Esenç, on 10 October 1992.  Recently UNESCO classified top other Circassian languages, Adige and Abkhaz, as “languages under the threat of extinction in Turkey.” Despite all our efforts towards language preservation during Turkey’s democratization process, no action has been taken.  We are still unable to overcome Turkey’s bureaucratic barriers in order to teach and learn our mother languages. The nationalist members of universities are blockading the senate decisions for opening new faculties for teaching Adige and Abkhaz languages. Unfortunately, our complaints to EU representatives are not been reflected in the institution’s yearly progress reports of Turkey’s path to ascension.

The Federation of Caucasians Associations in Turkey lists the following actions that must be taken to ensure the survival of our national identity. We believe that preservation of Circassian Culture is the task of humanity.

1. A new constitution respecting human rights must be established: A new civil and modern constitution based on basic human rights and freedoms, in accordance with universal norms, should be established. Any restrictions on languages, religions, and cultures of citizens must be removed. All international conventions guaranteeing human rights and the development of language and cultural rights must be ratified and applied without reservation.

2.Identity and cultural rights must be guaranteed: All obstacles to the declaration and preservation of Circassian identity must be removed and the existence of Circassians as a community and culture must be recognized. Circassians must be able to give Circassian names to their children and the places they inhabit.  There must be an active fight against discrimination and any kind of racism, and a particular focus on eradicating all expressions encouraging discrimination and hatred on the basis of language, religion, ethnicity and gender in school books.

3.Education is native languages must be guaranteed: The government must be supportive, not only permissive, of preservation of the language and culture of its citizens. In this regard, there must be Circassian language classes starting from primary school and all the restrictions impeding language teaching in kindergartens and associations must be removed.  Language courses must be started by public training centres and similar institutions and language teachers must be trained.  In addition, we call for academic research in any language to be allowed and for graduate and under-graduate programmes to be opened.

4.Circassian TV and radio broadcasting must be established: Full-time radio and television broadcasts must be aired solely in Circassian languages and private publication/broadcasting agencies must be supported.

5.Non-governmental organizations pertaining to Circassian culture must be supported: All non-governmental organizations working for preservation and development of Circassian culture must be given active support by the Turkish government.

6.Right to repatriation must be given: 21 May must be adopted as the symbolic date for the genocide and the exile of Circassians.  In addition, Circassians should also be given the right to return to their homeland.  To ensure this ability, transfer of social rights must be guaranteed for those Circassians who would like to return to Caucasia and agreements on the transfer of these rights must be entered into immediately.

7.Relations with Northern Caucasian Republics must be strengthened: Economic relations with Northern Caucasian Republics, where the relatives of the Circassians in Turkey live, especially the Republics of Adigey, Karachay-Circassian, and Kabardino-Balkaria must be strengthened.   Citizens who settle in Northern Caucasia or those who enter business relations with this region must be supported, and scholarships must be granted to the students studying at universities in these countries.

8.Abkhazia and South Ossetia must be recognized: Abkhazia and South Ossetia must be recognized as sovereign states.  Transport between Trabzon, Istanbul and Sokhum must be re-established immediately. Military aid to Georgia must be suspended. Economic, cultural, and educational cooperation among institutions and organizations in Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Turkey must be developed.

We ask that the international community, and in particular the Russian Federation:

1.Grant the right to repatriation: The greatest historical tragedy of Circassian People as “the genocide and forced deportation” should be recognized.  21 May should be internationally recognized as a symbolic date of tragedy. The Circassians should be granted repatriation abilities and all legal and practical barriers to those actions should be eliminated.

2.Grant dual citizenship: The Circassian people living in Turkey should be granted dual citizenship.

We see the Sochi Olympic Games as a chance to reconcile the past atrocities perpetrated against the Circassian people. We believe that recognition of this historical tragedy will be a step towards peace in the Northern Caucassus.

Let us now follow Prometheus, the provider of light. Let us meet with the Russian people and enjoy their outstanding culture.

I would like to end my presentation with a daily pray of Abkhaz people:

Let mighty god grant peace and prosperity for all nations on the world. But not forget our small nation.